Blade Runner

Ridley Scott(1982)

Review

Our Score

by Alan Jones

A super Philip K Dick story about a superdick searching for rebellious replicants translates here into a violent visual eye-popper, based in a futuristic Los Angeles, which set the acid rain/neon-drenched metropolis design standard for 1980s sci-fi. As influential as 2001: a Space Odyssey and Star Wars, and as thought-provoking as the former Kubrick classic, Ridley Scott's atmospheric downer is a compelling noir thriller that pleads for harmony between man and machine. Harrison Ford stars as the former cop assigned to track down android Rutger Hauer and his three associates. Hauer gives an exceptional performance as the blond humanoid who, like the others, has been implanted with memories of a nonexistent youth. The Director's Cut drops Ford's voiceover and actually adds more depth to the 1982 original, so the full masterpiece can shine through.

Summary

A former cop in a bleak future Los Angeles is forced to return to duty for a mission to hunt down and kill a group of renegade android replicants. The fugitives have escaped from a space colony to find their creator on Earth, in a bid to prolong their limited lifespan. Theatrical cut of Ridley Scott's sci-fi thriller, originally released in cinemas, starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young and Daryl Hannah.